Korean Highway Corporation Tests Highway Wi-Fi

The state-run KHC is testing a solution from California-based Strix Systems that will enable broadband access along the entire length of the highway that runs between Koreas two largest cities, Seoul and Pusan. In initial tests, the network successfully streamed high-bandwidth video to vehicles moving at speeds over 100 km/h.

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Calabasas, CA-based Strix Systems announced yesterday that the state-run Korean Highway Corp (KHC) will be using its Access/One Outdoor Wireless System (OWS) in an intelligent highway infrastructure test bed. The multi-phase, multi-year nationwide highway project will connect Koreas two largest cities, Seoul and Pusan.

The project is designed to help determine a more cost-effective method than cellular to deliver multimedia applications to a wide range of end-users, including those in moving vehicles. The Strix system is designed to enable the delivery of streaming video and voice to and from public safety and commuter vehicles. It also provides the architecture for a simplified communications infrastructure for traffic control and related systems.

The 31-kilometer test bed is located on the Kyungbu highway between Pangyo and Osan. In the tests, KHC is hoping for a solution that can achieve continuous fluid 8 Mbps end-to-end connections for streaming video, VoIP, and multimedia applications from vehicles moving at speeds reaching 100 km/h (roughly 62 mph).

As part of an initial test, which included other vendors going head-to-head, Strix OWS wireless mesh nodes were installed every 1 km with an average three or four hops from wired backhaul and mobile mesh nodes installed in vehicles. Strix Access/One wireless mesh network equipment yielded the highest performance with the highest throughput and lowest latency winning them the chance to participate in the test bed. According to a Strix press release issued Monday, Strix Access/One OWS was able to maintain an average high-density megapixel video streaming of 8-10 Mbps in moving vehicles, not only at the defined maximum test threshold of 100km/h, but exceeding 180 km/h (approx. 111 mph).

We have not seen such a large area deployment of wireless mesh network with WLAN technology in the world, said Kim Hongchol, Manager, KHC in a press release. The main application of this project is to monitor real, local highway road status and to transfer it to drivers in real time through the mesh network."

KHC hopes to use the network for public safety, as well as other applications. Strix is distributed in Korea by Broadwave.